ST.LOUIS — October 26, 2020 — Evolution St. Louis is working with fashion brands to locate advanced apparel manufacturing in the United States during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The company, founded in 2019, was created to address the dynamic shift in consumer buying patterns, build the supply chain of the future and strengthen “Made in the USA” manufactured products for contemporary, designer and luxury brands.

“COVID-19 has revealed the fragility of our economy and the supply chain weaknesses due to our dependence on foreign manufacturing,” said John Elmuccio, cofounder of Evolution St. Louis. “The fashion industry has been hard hit, but businesses with domestic manufacturing partners have fared better. By creating more responsive supply chains and locating production in the United States, brands and retailers have a better chance of success.”

Prior to COVID-19, more than 95 percent of clothes sold in the United States were imported from overseas because of higher profit margins with foreign manufacturing. Due to the pandemic, billions of dollars of clothing orders have been canceled and many brick-and-mortar stores have closed.

“Brands are coming to Evolution St. Louis because we are nimble and collaborative in our approach,” Elmuccio said. “The industry trend is to release drops versus designing for seasons. Evolution St. Louis can be more responsive using our 3D and Knit & Wear complete garment technology, allowing customers to react to demand, while also offering innovation previously unavailable. Traditional labor-intensive, cut-and-sew manufacturing and the 12- to 15-month cycles in Asia are not sustainable. Giving brands the option to base production in the United States also allows them to control inventory, making product that sells rather than projecting what might sell.”

Evolution St. Louis manufactures a broad range of products — including fully fashioned knits, complex shapes, footwear and smart textiles — with its industry leading, high-tech flatbed knitting machines. The company also can produce textiles for the home, office and automotive industries.

Posted October 26, 2020

Source: Evolution St. Louis

NEW YORK CITY — October 20, 2020 — Gerber Technology is revolutionizing the flexible materials processing industry with the launch of their end-to-end solution for mass production, which will be unveiled at its annual technology conference, ideation, on November 4-6. The connected platform features the new Atria digital cutting solution and the October 2020 release of AccuMark® 2D and 3D, AccuNest™ and AccuPlan™. With decades of industry experience, a rich history of innovation and feedback from it’s global customer base, Gerber developed a next-generation, digital mass production solution that will offer the best throughput, quality and price per piece in the market.

The Atria digital cutting room leverages Industry 4.0 and IoT to seamlessly integrate with Gerber’s pattern design, cut planning and nesting solutions, which connects the entire mass production process from CAD to the cut room. Gerber’s latest product releases deliver what manufacturers need to succeed in the post-COVID world by integrating data management, improving efficiencies, reducing material waste, optimizing nesting and cutting production costs.

“We designed the Atria to be the most intelligent, integrated, and high-performance cutter the mass production market has ever seen,” said Lenny Marano, chief commercial officer at Gerber Technology. “The new normal COVID era is a challenge for many manufacturers and requires them to be agile and innovative. The Atria is backed by Gerber’s end-to-end solution that will allow companies to easily adapt and respond to consumer demands and market challenges.”

The Atria digital cutting room builds on the innovative spirit of Joseph Gerber, the company’s founder and the pioneer behind the first automated cutting solution. As the industry’s smartest machine to date, the Atria promises to transform mass production by improving overall throughput by 50 percent, reducing consumable usage by over 30 percent and improving material yield by 5 percent with zero buffer cutting in many applications at full speed. The intuitive solution will be a game-changer for the workwear, denim, furniture, transportation and personal protective equipment (PPE) markets as it utilizes powerful algorithms to eliminate errors, reduces costs and ensure data integrity at every point in the process.

The Atria has already received high praise from early adopters who have been testing and leveraging the advanced cutting room solutions for several months. GDI Grupo Diamante Internacional, manufacturer of professional uniforms, emphasized the Atria’s ability to cut even the toughest materials. The company has been able to cut 30-percent more material since implementing the Atria into their workflow. Apparel manufacturer Lesato has also seen a major improvement in cut quality. The Atria has allowed them to significantly increase their ply height while cutting faster and with absolute precision..

“Fashion and transportation industries were two of the industry segments most impacted by COVID-19, which meant manufacturers in these industries had to quickly adapt their processes, accelerate eCommerce and look for new ways to connect with customers and maintain a competitive edge,” said Ron Ellis, director of Hardware Product Management at Gerber Technology. “The Atria’s state-of-the-art control technology and intelligent sensors enable versatility and make it the perfect solution for a variety of markets including apparel, transportation and furniture”

Posted October 22, 2020

Source: Gerber Technology